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.The effect of such a sport on an area could be dramatic, drawing many of the surrounding population away from their work.74 It could also attract mass influxes of visitors.On one occasion this was so great that the local population, who were ignorant of the impending prize-fight, believed that the French had just landed and stimulated a flood of refugees.75 While we can only gain a very small insight into the size of the crowds drawn to sporting events, even this very attenuated picture suggests that it was capable of generating large gatherings every year.Our sources shed considerable light on the social composition of the spectators.In only two sports, archery and tennis, do they appear to have been predominantly from the upper and middle ranks.Similar exclusive distinctions were occasionally apparent at horse-race meetings, such as at Epsom, where the first day of the meeting was set aside for the social elite.76 Generally, events were socially mixed, as at the Windsor Bachelors’ annual bull-bait which drew ‘a great concourse ofvarious descriptions of persons’.77 Entrance to horse-race meetings had always been free, but after 1740 there was an increased attendance of major meetings by the lower orders, which led to a desire by the socially elite to segregate themselves, prompting courses to create grandstands.78 On occasions, as at the Artillery Cricket Ground in 1744, and a major billiard match in 1804, increased entrance chargeswere deliberately introduced in order to restrict the size of the crowd.79 This appears to have been rare, but the general trend throughout the period was for the increasing commercial exploitation of sport, which inevitably limited the contact between groups of different economic means, though this did not prevent the attendance of pit men from Newcastle at the city’s expensive cockpit.80However, finance was not the sole criterion for social differentiation at sport.England during the Napoleonic wars was a society of ranks, in which everyone had a particular place.This became especially apparent at certain sporting events, particularly horse-race meetings, which tended to attract representatives from every strata.81Spectators for most sports incorporated all classes, though there appears to have been little social mixing.A sailing match on the Thames in 1800 typifies the situation.There was a huge, predominantly lower-class crowd watching from the banks while the social elite, including the Turkish ambassador, followed the race from a barge.82 However, in certain sports the social ranks came into closer contact.Although prize-fighting was a legally dubious activity, on ten occasions it attracted significant attendance by aristocrats.This peaked at the Sam–Belcher fight of 1807where ‘it would be no exaggeration to say, that to mention the names of the gentry present, would be to enumerate about one-fifth of the court calendar’.83 Reports of both prize-fights and bull-baits often portray close, in certain cases even intimate, contact between the social ranks, as if class distinctions were submerged by the excitement of sport.84 Unquestionably, some members of the wealthy elite displayed a catholic appetite for entertainment, the obituary of one noting that:160Beginnings of a Commercial Sporting Culture in BritainAlmost from his infancy he was an attendant upon all the fairs, boxing matches, races and diversions of every kind round London, from the ring made by first rate amateurs of the fancy down to the weekly badger baiting in Black Boy-alley.He was no less a constant attendant upon the execution of criminals before Newgate, &c.and was generally so well acquainted with their history, that he might well have been applied to as a kind of Old Bailey Chronicle.85By contrast, the social structure at horse-race meetings effectively precluded such interactions.The royalty at Ascot ‘mingled affably’, but with the top end of society, not the lower orders.86 Judging by the 1720s there were pronounced differences in the behaviour of members of the upper class at sporting events.Cock-fighting was a very raucous sport, but the pit at Whitehall was far more sedate than its rival because it catered for a ‘more select’, though equally privileged, audience.87The vast majority of spectators at an event were local members of the lower orders, although both their ability and desire to attend varied regionally, depending upon their work patterns.It is clear, however, that it was common for spectators to walk some six miles to watch a cricket match, and this was even used by the government as an indicator of the distance that it was regarded as acceptable for members of the militia to travel.88 The presence of lower-class spectators, in fairly large numbers, substantiates Vamplew’s claim that they had sufficient leisure time, though the lack of detailed information concerning their expenditure makes it far more difficult to assess his contention that they lacked spending power.89 The most prominent factor affecting attendance of events was communications, which could prevent even the keenest supporters travelling.This occurred in both 1805 and 1807, where the distance from London prevented the attendance at a prize-fight of large numbers of spectators.90 Londoners, it appears, were renowned for their attendance of prize-fights, a fact which suggests that they had considerable access to available leisure.This is consistent with a discovery in an earlier chapter which demonstrated the comparative independence of the region’s sporting culture from annual, holiday events.In many senses these Londoners, who travelled long distances to watch prize-fights, were the very first hard core sports fans [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.The effect of such a sport on an area could be dramatic, drawing many of the surrounding population away from their work.74 It could also attract mass influxes of visitors.On one occasion this was so great that the local population, who were ignorant of the impending prize-fight, believed that the French had just landed and stimulated a flood of refugees.75 While we can only gain a very small insight into the size of the crowds drawn to sporting events, even this very attenuated picture suggests that it was capable of generating large gatherings every year.Our sources shed considerable light on the social composition of the spectators.In only two sports, archery and tennis, do they appear to have been predominantly from the upper and middle ranks.Similar exclusive distinctions were occasionally apparent at horse-race meetings, such as at Epsom, where the first day of the meeting was set aside for the social elite.76 Generally, events were socially mixed, as at the Windsor Bachelors’ annual bull-bait which drew ‘a great concourse ofvarious descriptions of persons’.77 Entrance to horse-race meetings had always been free, but after 1740 there was an increased attendance of major meetings by the lower orders, which led to a desire by the socially elite to segregate themselves, prompting courses to create grandstands.78 On occasions, as at the Artillery Cricket Ground in 1744, and a major billiard match in 1804, increased entrance chargeswere deliberately introduced in order to restrict the size of the crowd.79 This appears to have been rare, but the general trend throughout the period was for the increasing commercial exploitation of sport, which inevitably limited the contact between groups of different economic means, though this did not prevent the attendance of pit men from Newcastle at the city’s expensive cockpit.80However, finance was not the sole criterion for social differentiation at sport.England during the Napoleonic wars was a society of ranks, in which everyone had a particular place.This became especially apparent at certain sporting events, particularly horse-race meetings, which tended to attract representatives from every strata.81Spectators for most sports incorporated all classes, though there appears to have been little social mixing.A sailing match on the Thames in 1800 typifies the situation.There was a huge, predominantly lower-class crowd watching from the banks while the social elite, including the Turkish ambassador, followed the race from a barge.82 However, in certain sports the social ranks came into closer contact.Although prize-fighting was a legally dubious activity, on ten occasions it attracted significant attendance by aristocrats.This peaked at the Sam–Belcher fight of 1807where ‘it would be no exaggeration to say, that to mention the names of the gentry present, would be to enumerate about one-fifth of the court calendar’.83 Reports of both prize-fights and bull-baits often portray close, in certain cases even intimate, contact between the social ranks, as if class distinctions were submerged by the excitement of sport.84 Unquestionably, some members of the wealthy elite displayed a catholic appetite for entertainment, the obituary of one noting that:160Beginnings of a Commercial Sporting Culture in BritainAlmost from his infancy he was an attendant upon all the fairs, boxing matches, races and diversions of every kind round London, from the ring made by first rate amateurs of the fancy down to the weekly badger baiting in Black Boy-alley.He was no less a constant attendant upon the execution of criminals before Newgate, &c.and was generally so well acquainted with their history, that he might well have been applied to as a kind of Old Bailey Chronicle.85By contrast, the social structure at horse-race meetings effectively precluded such interactions.The royalty at Ascot ‘mingled affably’, but with the top end of society, not the lower orders.86 Judging by the 1720s there were pronounced differences in the behaviour of members of the upper class at sporting events.Cock-fighting was a very raucous sport, but the pit at Whitehall was far more sedate than its rival because it catered for a ‘more select’, though equally privileged, audience.87The vast majority of spectators at an event were local members of the lower orders, although both their ability and desire to attend varied regionally, depending upon their work patterns.It is clear, however, that it was common for spectators to walk some six miles to watch a cricket match, and this was even used by the government as an indicator of the distance that it was regarded as acceptable for members of the militia to travel.88 The presence of lower-class spectators, in fairly large numbers, substantiates Vamplew’s claim that they had sufficient leisure time, though the lack of detailed information concerning their expenditure makes it far more difficult to assess his contention that they lacked spending power.89 The most prominent factor affecting attendance of events was communications, which could prevent even the keenest supporters travelling.This occurred in both 1805 and 1807, where the distance from London prevented the attendance at a prize-fight of large numbers of spectators.90 Londoners, it appears, were renowned for their attendance of prize-fights, a fact which suggests that they had considerable access to available leisure.This is consistent with a discovery in an earlier chapter which demonstrated the comparative independence of the region’s sporting culture from annual, holiday events.In many senses these Londoners, who travelled long distances to watch prize-fights, were the very first hard core sports fans [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]